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SweetLikeTropicana
Reviews
Six Shooter (2004)
A credit to short film
One of my house-mates watched this film on a Monday night, a night which I myself usually go to bed early as I have work in the morning. As he put it on, I was just readying myself to hit the sack. However, after watching, intrigued, for the first five minutes I sat down and made myself comfortable for what was one of the finest twenty five minutes of character acting committed to celluloid I have seen for a while.
The lead role, played superbly by Gleeson, is a portrayal of a character very much in limbo, being at a point in his life where he is at a crossroads, never sure what to do next. This is until he meets a disregarding young man on a train, less than eloquent but with a mouth like a traction engine. During the journey he invariably upsets several passengers, however it is the tying in of events that truly sets this film apart. Although at times it may seem contrived in its directness in linking different parts of the story, we must remember that this is a short film and needs to be direct in certain aspects.
Rúaidhrí Conroy, an actor of whom I've not seen anything of outside this role, shows promise akin of some of the finest young British actors of our generation. His role play as the misanthropic youth is superb, and it is fair to say he steals the show from the undoubtedly talented and far more celebrated Gleeson.
If you get a chance to see this film, or even purchase it based on this review, it will not be in vain; a contemporary British masterpiece.
Week end (1967)
A film you will either love or hate
Jean-Luc Goddard's film Weekend is something that is simple yet intricate. On the face of it we get a film that relies little on plot or coherence, seemingly ambling its way through different settings until the story, if it can be described as such, comes to a strange end. However, while mainstream cinema aims to entertain, the avant-garde aims to challenge and subvert and it is within this ethos that Weekend is born. It is a clever film, one that given time will come to be seen as so. On first viewing it is simple to cast it away as nonsense or as a 'bad film' - someone has likened it to being as bad as Street Fighter. Yet the two are incomparable, as Weekend relies on cinematic constructions and subtle political messages rather than attempting to force feed you the story in a linear manner. To draw this comparison is like comparing a Marvel comic to a Jackson Pollock painting.
Although Weekend is not my favourite film from the French New Wave era, it is a good example of the 'genre'. as it were. A lot can be taken from viewing this film, with many subversive political messages being implied about society and the way we live as individuals. It runs in a similar vein to Bunuel's Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, although that is perhaps a more accessible film. If you have the patience and can obtain meaning from one of the longest shots of a traffic jam you're ever likely to see, Weekend may be for you.
V for Vendetta (2005)
Toss
What a bag of toss, i cannot believe some of the tripe people have written about this film.
OMG!
its terrible, the acting is elementary, some seem surprised at actors being able to play different types of character but for me this is part and parcel of their jobs. secondly, why did he perform a solo domino-pushing experiment, as in the context of the film this is sad and lonely and utterly, unbelievably some may say, pointless. the only one to see it would have been "V". not even a real name, really.
cack
Rumpelstiltskin (1995)
Laughs Ahoy!
********SPOILERS AHEAD******************
Okay, where to start? the laughable opening scene, where a rubber Rumple burns on the floor? Removing a human eye that can still move? or perhaps the pathetic title appearing on screen? theres several scenes that made me cry with laughter. one such incident is where a little dwarf, Rumpy, is hanging on a window ledge then miraculously floats down onto a car window about 100 yards from where he was. any time something irregular happens such as this, it's accredited to "magic". Similarly, Rumple can shoot an empty gun, also "magic". some of the dialogue is great. i found myself reciting some of the lines for weeks after, which are still memorable to this day. But at the end of the day, after booking it out on a whim i can safely say that i would recommend it to anyone. in a similar vein to "Jeepers Creepers" the "Creature" is unlikely to scare anyone other than a fawn. i have re-hired it several times, and, believe me, there's nothing quite like the "Rumple" experience.